State on alert for price gouging

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is taking aim at price gouging during the coronavirus emergency.

Shapiro is asking the public to report any instances of price gouging, exploitative or opportunistic pricing, to pricegouging@attorneygeneral.gov. “As Pennsylvania continues to manage the spread of the coronavirus, merchants should be put on notice: you cannot use a public health emergency as a business opportunity,” Shapiro said in a press release. “For consumers, just know: if you see the price of basic goods skyrocket reach out to my Office. Let us know. Our agency is here to protect you from being taken advantage of.”

Wolf signed an emergency disaster declaration Friday, following the first two positive tests of state residents for coronavirus, and its resultant illness COVID-19. The declaration granted state agencies more freedom to deploy resources in response to the virus, according to his administration.

Additionally, protections under state law for consumers and businesses were triggered by the declaration.

The two people which tested positive are in isolation at their homes, Wolf said at a press conference at Pennsylvania Emergency Management Headquarters in Harrisburg.

According to a press release from Shapiro’s office, in a disaster emergency, rules state: “companies and vendors are prohibited from charging a price for consumer goods or services that exceeds 20 percent of the average price to which those goods or services were sold for in the 7 days preceding the date of declaration.”